the hardest thing to do at hots
is to know when to quit.
.
extreme heat is nothing to play around with.
but the nature of this game is
that it requires going on when the body is literally begging to quit.
.
so when the heat is like it has been the last few days
we dont press call-ins to go on,
we press them to take refuge in a motel
sleep and cool off.
if possible get stomach issues sorted
and hydration back on track….
.
this isnt that easy for an overheated athlete.
it seems as if the way it feels now is permanent.
your place that you have fought for so hard is going to be lost;
you would return to the game far behind your previous place in the field.
.
but it has saved a lot of races.
considering the investment that it has taken to get this far
financial, psychological, and physical
hanging on to finish is worth a lot.
.
so when a runner calls in for a ride
the first thing we look at is whether they have enough cushion to hole up in a cool place.
second is if there is any place for them to go!
.
convincing them to do it is not always easy.
but, depending on the timing and location,
it might be better than to wait out in the heat half a day for us to come and get them!
.
there arent that many of us covering a lot of ground now:
it is nearly 150 miles from the front to the back
(and expanding every hour)
plus, athletes falling behind the reaper today will have to be transported about 350 miles to their cars!
with a return trip to be figured in before we can haul another load!
.
all drivers must sleep
or the ride will be more dangerous than the heat!
.
but, back to the race itself:
phillip perkins now has control of the 350 miler.
at 202 miles
he is 38 miles ahead of crystal wheatley.
crystal had to have one of those resets last night…
.
but a night of AC and getting everything squared away has her back on track.
she is only a little ahead of john clarke now,
as the two of them stalk phillip.
when there is only one person out front
and 150 miles left to go
this game is hardly over!
.
in the 400 michael carson and addison hendricks are on the same mile.
without being there i couldnt tell you if they are together,
out of each other’s sight,
or running only a short distance apart….
.
with 200 miles to go does that matter?
.
christine tokarz is a mere 5 miles back.
that doesnt matter either!
jeff leuwerke,
another 13 miles back is as much in it as any of the others.
we can expect to see a lot more shuffling among the lead pack over the next few days!
.
it is the trailing pack where the immediate drama is;
there is a much greater concern for kim drake and jeff russell,
both of whom apparently had terrible nights to fall behind the reaper.
unless they made a mistake at check-in,
their races are on life support.
it is a lot harder to make up lost distance in the heat of the day.
and they lost ground in what passes for the cool of the night here!
.
joe haist is now even with the reaper,
as his struggle enters its second day.
.
the grim reaper…
.
it continues to move without fatigue
and without pity.
.
it will take a miracle to save any of the three from a long ride back to the rock.
Categories: HOTS 2026